Every Town Needs Help
by Habeeb
Summary: Short fic about Xander and Spike's encounter with some muggers. Spike is chipped, so Xander must come to the rescue. Will turn into a longer fic if wanted. Possible slash later on.
1. Chapter 1

-1Xander ran forward into the trees, trying to get the gang of humans away from Spike. Spike was chipped, so he was as dangerous as a neutered cat. Hey, it wasn't like Xander liked the guy, but even he saw that it was unfair that Spike could defend himself. Xander figured he could probably take them, one by one. Hey, being a Scooby had some advantages. He could now fend for himself in a fight.

As he dashed in between the trees of the local park, Xander sensed that the men were still behind him. "Shit, I have to get rid of these guys." He spotted a long branch and picked it up, waiting for the gang to catch up. When they finally did, they saw Xander jus standing there, holding a branch like a club. One of the guys laughed and said, "You think you can take all five of us with that twig?" This caused the other guys to start laughing too. Xander took his chance and took three steps towards the closest guy. He swept his branch at his head and the man fell to the ground, unconcious. "Now there's only four of you scumbags."

Xander limped back to where he had left Spike. He saw Spike laying on the ground, and when he had reached him he saw that Spike was in pretty bad shape. "You'd think with your healing powers you wouldn't look so much like shit," he tried to joke. Spike glared at him and tried to speak, but he was too tired. Xander asked, "Can you walk on your own?"

"Mate, I can't even sit up right now," Spike managed to whisper, "I lost a hell of a lot of blood."

Xander swore. He couldn't get Spike back to safety by himself, he too was beat up. He looked down and noticed that his clothes were bloody. _Damnit, what do I do_? He couldn't call Buffy, she was on vacation with Dawn. Giles was back in England, and Willow was unreachable.

"Listen, deadboy. I'm going to do something that I really don't want to do. I have to do it, though, because this town needs you to control the vampires from running rampant until Buffy gets back."

Spike arched his eyebrow, not understanding.

Xander groaned. He **really** didn't want to do this, but he saw no other way. He sat down besides Spike. "Open your mouth." Spike saw the look in Xander's eyes and knew better than to question, especially since he was in no shape to defend himself from a beating. He did he was told.

Xander took his Swiss Army Knife from his pocket and opened the razor. He cut his forearm right below the elbow. Blood started to drip from the cut. He lifted his arm and rested the cut on Spike's mouth, letting the blood flow freely.

Spike's wounds finally stopped bleeding. Suddenly, he was grasping Xander's arm and sucking the cut. Xander didn't notice that Spike had his gameface on. Xander pushed Spike back away from him, feeling horribly weak. "What the hell Spike? Were you trying to kill me?"

Spike changed into his human face and stood up, the blood rejuvinating him. "Sorry mate, but it's been a while since I've had blood from the source." He helped Xander up. "We've got to get a move on, 'fore the sun comes up." They headed back to Xander's house, where Spike was staying for the time being until he could find a habitable crypt. Spike didn't really mind living with Xander. Well, he did mind it when he used to be tied up in the char, but Xander had gotten past that. Now, they actually did things together like watch movies. Spike figured it was just because Xander wanted a male friend for once. Spike spent time with Xander only because it was the only thing to do. Or so, that's how it started.

Spike looked over to Xander and swore. "Alright, mate. I'm no good at this. So, I'm just going to flat out say it. And if you ever bring it up again, I may just kill you and deal with the pain. So...thanks."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Xander, Spike, etc. do not belong to me. I am not Joss Whedon. If I were, I would not be attending college. I would be having sexy parties all the time. 

By the time they had reached the apartment, Xander was limping and being held up by Spike. "Spike, I don't feel too good. too much blood loss or something." At that he bent over and retched into the bushes outside of the doorway. "I think I might have to go to the hospital, get a transfusion or something." Spike nodded and headed inside, leaving Xander to lean into the bushes once more. He called an ambulance, saying his friend was mugged on his way back home. He returned and let Xander finish emptying his stomach before helping Xander lay on his bed, awaiting the ambulance. Spike changed out of his clothes; he didn't want to look like he'd been at Xander's "mugging".

"I got to tell you mate, you did fairly well, for a mortal." Xander chuckled. "Yeah, watch out baddies. I'm dangerous with a branch." He started to laugh, but winced. "I think I might've broken a few ribs. It hurts to breathe." Spike went over to Xander and placed his hand on Xander's chest. Xander nearly passed out from the pain. "Broken, mate? I think they're shattered. What the hell happened in those woods?"

"Well I took one guy down no problem. He was down for the count. The other four rushed at me. Two of them threw me into the tree and I fell. They took turns pummeling me until I could grab one of the guys' shoes. I flipped him backwards and was able to stand up. I punched one guy, then pulled a Buffy and kicked him in the chest. But of course, I then pulled a Xander and kicked the other one in the balls and ran away like a girl." That made Spike smile. "I'm so damn tired of not being able to fend for myself. I can't keep getting hurt like this. One of these days I will end up dying."

Spike didn't know what to say, so he just went over to the fridge and tossed a beer to Xander. Xander threw it right back, but it fell a mere six feet from him. "I'm on the verge of passing out, you idiot! I can't drink!"

"Sorry," Spike mumbled. He never was any good at helping sick people out. Hell, he always killed people, didn't nurse 'em back to health.

Ten minutes later, Xander and Spike saw flashing lights outside. The paramedics lifted him into the ambulance. Spike stood there, waiting for them to leave. The paramedic looked at Spike and asked, "Aren't you coming with us?" Spike glanced at Xander, who briefly nodded his head. Spike climbed in to the ambulance and went with him to the hospital.

**Authors note: Please review! I need all the help I can get! I'll review yours too! ;-)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: I do not own any of the BtVS Universe; I am not Joss Whedon. If I were Joss Whedon, I would have no need to attend college**

As Xander was admitted to the emergency room, Spike was forced to sit down at a small chair and fill out paperwork as best as he could. This didn't get him far, however, and he tried to make his point with the desk nurse.

"How the hell am I supposed to fill this out when I don't know any other answers?" he asked.

"Sir, please. Just fill it out to the best of your ability and we will try to fill the holes in later," she replied. She barely looked up from her mass of charts on the desk.

Spike grumbled something about 'bloody berks' and wished his chip was out to show the nurse what he thought of her. The most he was able to fill out was Xander's name and address, as well as employer. As for emergency contact, Spike listed himself. He reasoned that he was the only one who was even remotely available in case something happened. He went back to the desk, handed the nurse the almost blank paperwork, and went outside to have a cigarette. Why was he here? It's not like he owed the whelp anything. Sure, Xander helped, but that didn't mean that Spike owed him one now. He finished his cigarette and sat down in the waiting room with an old issue of Entertainment Weekly.

He was reading a column bemoaning the fact that the only movies that seemed to be made were remakes, sequels, and prequels. Spike was reminded of the time they had watched "Paranormal Activity." It was right after a night of patrolling and they only ran into three vampires the entire night. Both were extremely bored when they got back to their shared flat, so they decided to order a Pay-per-view movie. Spike didn't want Xander to get in trouble with his parents, but he just waved it off and said that they never paid attention to the bills. _It's a good thing they weren't there tonight_, Spike realized.

A doctor walked into the waiting room and Spike realized that this was the one who was helping Xander. He stood up and met the doctor in the middle of the room.

"Mr..?"

"Call me William."

"Alright, William. Alex is going to be fine with a couple weeks of rest. The worst of his injuries were cracked ribs that we set as well as a loss of quite a bit of blood. You said he was mugged?"

"That's what Xander said when he walked up to his place. I was waiting for him because we were supposed to hang out tonight. Why do you ask?" Spike wanted to squash any doubt in his and Xander's alibi now.

"It seems he may have been bitten by an animal, a dog or something. Maybe a wolf. He has puncture wounds and we believe that the blood loss is caused mainly by this wound. We are treating it for rabies and hepatitus because for all we know the animal may have been diseased." Spike held back a growl, but only briefly. "It's odd, though. This is the third bite we've had this week so far."

**A/n: It has been over a year and a half since I've looked at this story. I read it for the first time and I have two things to apologize for. One: The shoddy grammar. Two: Letting the story die like this. I am kind of up in the air about what to do with this story, so I would love to hear your feedback. **


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